Automatic lap-winding machine



April 14, M T N AUTOMATIC LAP WINDING MACHINE Filed Dec. 15, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 14, 1936. T E N 2,037,348

AUTOMATIC LAP WINDING MACHINE Filed Dec. 13, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 rfiEM, r M. STEIN 3 AUTOMATIC LAP WINDING MACHINE Filed Dec. 15, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 V 'vervro M. STEIN AUTOMATIC LAP WINDING MACHINE Aprifi 14, 1936.

Filed Dec. 15, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 MnreNTa/Q Patented Apr. 14, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE Application December 13, 1932, Serial No. 647,037 In Hungary December 1'7, 1931 25 Claims.

This invention relates to automatic lap-winding machines for use in the preparatory operations of spinning, and more particularly to lapwinding machines having automatically raised racks and associated with cotton scutchers, said lap-winding machine being of the kind in which after the finished lap has attained a certain length an empty lap roller is automatically substituted therefor.

The invention substantially consists in connecting the racks to the lap ejecting and supplying device in such a manner that during the raising and lowering of the racks firstly the finished lap is thrown out by the ejector and. then an empty lap roller being in a position in which it is ready for use is caught by the supplying device and guided tothe driving rollers. The ejecting and supplying device is controlled by the racks oris arranged on the racks themselves.

One object of the invention is to render the ejecting and supplying device simple in construction and easy to handle, by leaving out the system of rods, eccentrics and the like, which in the known machines are connected to a cam shaft extending through the whole machine and thus being very long, as well as difficult to mount. A further advantage of the invention is that the cam shaft, if not entirely left out, may be considerably shortened.

In an appropriate form of the invention the ejector substantially consists of a guide extending underneath the lap and doffing the same if the rack is raised, the supplying device for the empty lap rollers substantially consisting of a guide fastened on and inclined towards the rack, and of a frame cooperating with the latter and adapted to receive several lap rollers simultaneously, one of which is led from time to time into the oblique guide at the raising and lowering of the racks. Although the device according to the invention operates continuously, there is sufiicient time for weighing each lap after having been ejected, which is not the case with known machines.

In a preferred form of the new lap winding machine the finished laps are carried away by a conveyor which for a certain period stores these laps, thus affording a continuous operation.

A further object of the invention is to stop the machine automatically, if the weight of the produced lap is not within fixed limits, with the result that a reliable automatic control is attained. This stopping of the machine is effected by scales which electrically act upon the stopping device of the machine.

The accompanying drawings illustrate a few forms of the invention.

Fig. l is a side view of the lap machine in the braked position of the racks and during lapping.

Figs. 2 and 3 show details of this machine. 5

Fig. 4 shows the same view as Fig. 1, but after the finished lap has been ejected and an empty lap roller has been caught by the supplying de- Figs. 5 and 6 show an alternative cover-lifting l device in two different positions.

Fig. '7 shows a part of a further embodiment.

Fig. 8 shows a combined lap weighing and. transporting device.

Fig. 9 illustrates a part of a further form prol vided with an automatic weighing device, Figs. 10 to 14 inclusive showing different parts in different positions of this form.

Figs. 15 and 16 show another form of the racks in two positions.

Fig. 1'7 shows a further form of the conveyor. Fig. 18 shows a further form of the rack driving device, Fig. 19 showing a part of this device.

Fig. 20 is the side view of the racks and the driving electric motor.

Fig. 21 shows a device for controlling said electric motor, and

Figs. 22 and 23 illustrate two positions of another device for controlling the electric motor.

Figs. 24 and. 25 show a modification of the device according to Figs. 1 or 4 in side view and front view respectively.

3 is an empty lap roller (Fig. 1) at the ends of which there are pivots 9, over which on either side a rack grips. The lap 2 approaches the lap roller 3 in the direction of the arrow, passing through the series of compression rollers l and. over the two driving rollers 4 and 5 placed at a given distance from each other, against which, at the beginning, the lap roller 3 is pressed by the weight of the racks bearing on its pivots. In the rackheads are rollers l and 8 against which the pivots 9 bear. The wrapping on of the lap 2 on the roller 3 is efiected in a well known manner by ahalf-cylin-drical cover It (Fig. 3) whose edge facing the entering lap 2 is bent up.

This cover is suspended by a pivot l3 which may slide in a longitudinal slot of the arm l2 which swings under the control of a spring H.

A spring controlled lever M of the rack 6 pressing against the pivot l3, keeps the arm I2 in the position shown in Fig. 2. The cover l0 causes the lap 2 to lie against the circumference of lap roller 3. As the lapformation progresses, theroller 3 and the racks 6 are lifted in relation to the rollers 4 and 5; thus, after a short movement, the arm I6 of lever I4 engages with a looking finger I1, so that the lever I4 swings away and frees the pivot I3, as well as the arm I2. Under the influence of spring I I, this arm swings upwards into the position shown in Fig. 4 taking with it the cover II), which has already performed its function of laying the lap on the roller.

The formation of the lap progresses till the required thickness is attained; then the automatic stop motion I9 stops the compression rollers I in a well known manner and, according to the invention, starts simultaneously a device which automatically removes the finished lap from its situation under the racks 6, and conveys a fresh empty lap roller in place thereof.

This is performed in the embodiment shown, as follows:

The stop motion counter I9 (Fig. 1) swings the lever 2 I around pin 23, which lever in turn swings in the usual wayan arm 23 around pivot 22 from its engaged position by shifting the pin 240, so that the gear wheel 24 disengages from gear 25 fixed .on the shaft of the undermost press roller I. Thus the press rollers I stop, but driving rollers 4 and 5 continue to rotate the finished lap, breaking the layer 2 of the lap.

In consequence of its weight, lever 23 actuates by rod 25 the two armed lever 28, which can be a laminated spring swinging aboutpivot 2T, lifting throughits arm 29 the rod 30 so that the two armed lever 32 swings around pivot 3|, and gear wheel 34 attached to arm 33 engages with gear wheel 35 on thecam shaft of the machine, thus causingit to rotate. Gear wheel 34 is constantly driven in the direction of the arrow. Cam shaft 35, by toothed segment 31 andgear wheel 38, rotates shaft 39, which by means of gear wheels and 4| shaft 42 and gear 43 keyed thereon, lifts the racks 6.

.Swingably mounted on pivot 44 of rack 6 is a lateral L-shaped guide 45 the downward move ment thereof being limited by a stop, said guide following the upward motionof the racks, presses against pivots 9 and freesthe finished lap, which rolls along guide 45 coming into the oblique position shown in Fig. 4. The lap rolls down into a trough 46, which may be a part of a weighing device, as set forth below.

In the meantime, the continually rising racks have reached the empty lap roller 3 resting on frame 41 in a position ready for use. The oblique guide 48 attached to rackheads 6 releases the empty lap roller (Fig. 4) whose pivots roll down in guide '48. The sinking of .the fresh roller is damped by two laminated springs I I0, so that when the pivots 9.reach the lowest part of guide 48, they are stopped and remain in the guide.

At this moment the toothed segment 3'! ceases to mesh with gear 38, so that gear wheels 40, 4| and 43 become idle and the racks 6 fall under the action of gravity, carrying down the new lap roller. Just before the racks 6 reach their lowestposition, the roller 3 strikes against the roller 5, or a certain part of the frame of the machine (not shown) and slides into its working position.

In certain cases it is difficult to arrange the guide 45 as low as shown in Fig. 1. In these cases the embodiment shown in Figs. 15 and 16 is preferable. In this form of the invention the pivot 44 is in the desired high position and is within a slot ||6'jof the guide. If the racks are in their lowest position, the guide 45 takes the high position shown in Fig. 16, leaving plenty of room for the constructional parts which are to be placed under this guide. In this form of the invention the guide 48 must, of course, also be able to come into a high position, which is made possible by connecting this guide to the rack by means of a link H2 pivoted to the rack byapin H3 andto the guide byapin III. Thus if the guide 45 is lifted in the position shown in Fig. 16, it keeps also guide 48 in an elevated situation.

When the racks are raised, the guide 45 falls into the position according to Fig. 15, so that guide 48 is also lowered until its nose II4 bears on a buffer I I5 rigidly secured on the rackhead. Thus, after a short upward movement of the racks,'the guides come into their working position.

In the later period of downward movement of the racks 6, a brake shoe 49 (Fig. 1) lies against the friction pulley 50 fixed on shaft 39, thus braking the fall of the racks. cam disc 5| fastened on the cam shaft 35. This disc lias'two recesses 55, 51 between which there is a cam 56. The disc 5| engages with a roller 53 pivoted on the end of lever 52. While this roller is'in contact with the cylindrical surface of the disc 5|, the brake is released (Fig. 4), whilst a braking takes place when one of the recesses frees the roller. The brake shoe 49 is fixed on the shorter armof a lever 54 the longer arm of which'bears a weight 54', the free end of this arm being connected to the adjacent end of'lever 52, which carries the roller 53. As soon as the recess 55 frees roller 53, weight 54' acts upon brake shoe 49, whichtakes place before the rack has attained its lowest position. The braking becomes momentarily interrupted by cam 56, after which, at the recess '51, the complete braking takes place. The interrupting of the non-cylindrical part of disc 5| by the cam 56 has the advantage that if the racks are stopped by braking .inconsequence of the action of recess 55 before attaining-their lowest position, the releasing of the brake by cam 56 results in the racks finishing their sinking movement. Should the racks reach theinlowermost position before the cam 56 engages roller 53, the momentary releasing of the brake has .no effect.

The downward movement of the racks may be effected positively by cam shaft 35 as an alter- For this purnative to the above embodiment. pose the gear 43 meshing with the toothed part of the rack is to be driven by a known reversing device, which may be constituted according to Figs. 24 and-.25 byfixing on cam shaft 35 a secondtoothedsegment 3'! displaced in a suitable axial distance from segment 31. When segment -3l-eeases to mesh with gear 38, segment 3'! engages an intermediate wheel 38 rotating gear 38 inthe opposite direction and thus lowering the racks. In'this case-the braking is applied only when the racks have attained their lowest position.

As soon as the lap rack has attained its lowest position, counter 58 of known construction throws :gearwheel 34 out of mesh with gear 36 by means 'of two armed lever 55 which turns about pivot 59, so that cam shaft stops (see Figs. 1 and 4). In this last period cam 6| strikes against roller 32 fixed on the end of the lever arm 29, so that the displaced two armed lever 28, 29 lifts, by means of rodZEi, lever arm 23 and throws gear 'wheels 24, 25 into mesh; thus the press rollers I start again andthe broken off end of the lap runs again towards roller 3.

This is effected by a The cover I should be at this time already in its lowest position. For this purpose the lowering racks take the cover with themselves, as the upper end of lever I4 engages at the uppermost position of the racks the pin I3. During the lowering of the racks and cover I0, arm I6 strikes against the spring controlled finger I1, which escapes from the path of this arm.

Figs/5 and 6 show another device for raising and lowering the cover II). In this form a cord or wire rope 61 is attached to the rackhead and led around a roller 65 pivoted on the frame of the machine, then within a sleeve 95 to an eccentric disc 66, to which it is secured. Another cord 89 is fixed to a roller 69 keyed to the shaft 68 of disc 66, this cord being led through another sleeve 95 to the cover I0. Thus when the rack is raised, the cover rises quickly, but when a certain height is attained the speed of the cover is greatly decreased, as the cord 61 comes to a part of disc 66 having a longer radius (Fig. 6). This has the effect that the path of the cover is not too long.

According to the form shown in Fig. 7, the cover I0 is provided with means I60 adapted to cut the lap when the cover is lowered into its position shown in this figure. These means advantageously consist of sharp elongations or teeth pressing the lap to the driving roller 5 and thus separating the part of the lap which is to be rolled up on the empty lap roller, from the part belonging to the finished roller. In this embodiment the gear 24 is not pivoted in the lever arm 23 as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, but its bearings are fixed and mounted independently from this arm, so that when this arm is swung in a clockwise direction, gear 24 does not move and. rollers I continue their rotation. Thus the layer of the lap 2 is not broken when the finished lap is ejected, as the supplying of the lap is continued by the rollers I. This arrangement makes it necessary to continue the rotation of the lap after its ejection, so that instead of the trough 46 of the foregoing forms, the lap is doffed onto two rollers I6I and I62, constantly driven in one and the same direction for instance by cam shaft 35. Thus during the raising and lowering of the racks the lap is rotated by rollers I6I and I62, these rollers driving the lap advantageously somewhat faster than rollers 4 and 5, causing a slight tensioning of the lap 2.

When the cover I0 reaches its lowest position, the lap 2 is cut in the manner set forth and the part of the lap which is outside the cover and under the teeth I60 is pulled back by the lap roller and the lapping goes on without trouble, as proved by experiments. The finished lap is carried away by hand or by a conveyor of any description.

Of course the teeth I60 may be built at the edge of the cover itself, 1. e. the edge of the cover may be of such a form (for instance saw-toothed) that the desired effect is attained.

The invention relates further to devices for the automatic removal of the ejected lap from the trough or the weighing device, and further to the automatic stopping of the machine, if the weight of the finished lap does not fall within certain admissible limits. For the first mentioned purpose, according to Fig. 8 the trough 46 can swing around a pivot 1I under the influence of the cam 13 located on shaft 12, which lifts it from time to time. Thereby the pivots 9 of the lap roll down on the oblique guide 14 in the direction of the arrow and fall between claws or paws 16 of a well known conveyor which carries the finished laps away and lays them down at any desired place. The laps, however, may also be taken out of the conveyor by hand. The conveyor 15 extends around two cylinders 11, only one of which is shown in Fig. 8. This conveyor enables the machine to operate continuously, as the doffed laps are raised up making place for the following one.

According to Fig. 8, the trough 46 forms part of a weighing device showing the weight of the finished laps on the scale provided on plate 19. But it is also possible to have the laps dofied directly into the claws of the conveyor, for which purpose for instance the guide 14 is made somewhat longer to take up the ejected lap and to lead it to the conveyor. According to Fig. 1'1 the laps doffed into the trough of the weighing device I19 are taken out of said trough directly by the claws of the conveyor 15, sothat a swinging or raising of the trough is not necessary.

For stopping the machine if the weight of the lap does not fall within the admissible limits, in

the embodiment shown in Fig. 9 a finger or pointer 82 of the weighing device moves in front of a plate 19 having a scale. are two separated contacts 80, 8| the ends of which facing each other lie on the limits of the admissible lap weight. These contacts are connected through signal lamps 86, 81, and 93, 81 respectively to a switch 88 and to an electromagnetic device I01 one pole of which is connected to the source of current 83 directly, while the other pole communicates with the respective pole of the On the plate 19 there source of current through short circuit segment I 85, pointer 82 of the scale, the signal lamps and 31 switch 80. The armature of the electromagnetic device I01 is in connection with lever 9|, which is under the influence of spring 90 and engages in a recess of one half coupling 92 shiftable but unrotatable on cam shaft 35. The cooperating half coupling is keyed to driving shaft I02. As soon as the pointer of the scale records an inadmissible weight, said pointer touches contact 80 or 8| and thus the circuit is closed, by which lamps 86 and 81 or 93 and 81 light up and show the fault; at the same time coupling 92 under influence of the electromagnet of the device I01 becomes disengaged, by which means cam shaft 35 is stopped. It is, of course, possible, to stop in the same way another rotatable part of the machine, the stop ping of which prevents the machine from functioning. Connected in parallel with the electromagnetic device I01 there is included in the circuit an electrical indicator I09, for recording the number of bad. (that is, too heavy, or too light) laps. On the circuit being closed by the pointer 82, the current flows through this indicator, which advances with one numeral, thus affording a simple means for indicating the waste in the laps. The subtraction of the number of bad laps recorded by the electrical indicator I09 from the number of the total produced laps recorded by the hank indicator, gives the number of good laps In this way abuses are excluded, because every lap must fall in the trough of the balance and every bad lap is recorded by the indicator I 09. A wage system can be built up in this way by making the workman responsible for the waste in laps.

The short circuit segment 85 is secured to a disc 8&- keyed to shaft 35 in such a way that when the ejected lap falls into the trough of the weighing device, this segment does not yet touch its contacts and so the circuit cannot be closed. A few'seconds later when the weighing device has come in balance; segment 85 is turned to its contacts and allows the closing of the circuit. The machine is restarted by interrupting the circuit at switch 88 in consequence of which spring 95 engages the coupling again.

In the embodiment according to Fig. 1 or 4, the intermittent turning of cam shaft 35 is effected by Way of a pinion 34 mounted in a lever 32. In the embodiment according to Fig. 9 this intermittent rotation is effected, as already mentioned, by means of the driving shaft I52, which may turn the shaft 35 by a coupling IDI, Ifila. This coupling is engaged by arm 93 fixed on pivot 22 (see also Fig. 1). To this arm is hinged a rod 96 sliding in guide I08. A second rod 98 is shiftable in guide 91.

These two rods 96, 98 are pulled, towards each other by a spiral spring 99. To the lower end of rod 98 is hinged a crank lever I50 turning about pivot I53, the forked end of which embraces the left half coupling Iili shiftable but not rotatable on shaft I52 while half coupling IIIia. secured to the constantly driven gear wheel 35 runs idle on shaft I52. Close to the half coupling IEII is an immovable disc I53 with a rim I54 (Fig. 12), which is interrupted by a recess I 55. On the back of the half coupling IIlI is a cam I56 which engages in a certain position the recess I95 of the rim (Fig. 13). When the lap is finished and arm 23 (Fig. 1) sinks, pivot 22 is also turned, so that arm 93 engages by means of rod 95, 98 and lever I the half coupling IGI with half coupling Ifila, driving shaft I52 beginning thus to rotate the cam shaft 35. This position of the arrangement is shown in Fig. 10, in which it is to be seen, that the cam I55 has been pulled out from recess I05, enabling the coupling to turn. When the machine is started again that is to say arm 23 is raised, pivot 22 turns into the position ac cording to Fig. 11 and pulls the rod 98 upwardly, tensioning the spring 99. At this moment the rod 98 cannot follow the movement of rod 95, as the cam shaft 35 has not yet finished its revolution and cam I36 rides on the outer surface of rim I54; but as soon as this cam snaps into the recess I05, rod 98 is pulled up by thespring 95 and the coupling IIII, IiiIav is disengaged.

In this embodiment the counter 58 provided on lever 55 (Figs. 1 and 4) is: superfluous, as it is replaced by rim I54, recess I85 and cam I05.

In the following a further embodiment will be described, in which the cam shaft 35 is superfluous, as the racks are moved upwardly and downwardly by an electric motor H5 (Fig. 20) through gear wheels H2, H8 and 43. The latter is fixed on shaft 42. The arm H9 (Fig. 18) of switch I25 controlling said motor is governed by a plate I2I having an eccentric groove I 35. Said plate is fastened on a sleeve I22 rotating freely on shaft I23 which is constantly driven for instance by the roller 5. On the same sleeve one half I24 of a clutch coupling is shiftably but unrotatably mounted. The other part I25 of the coupling is fixed on the shaft I23. At the fall of arm 23 the coupling I24, 525 is engaged by means of two rods I26, I21 connected to this arm and pulled against each other by a spring I28, and by means of a crank lever I29 turning around a pivot I35 as the vertical, forked arm of this lever embraces the half coupling I24. Thus on the arm 23 falling, sleeve I22 and together with this sleeve, the plate I2I begin to turn, at which moment the roller I34 guided in the recess I35 is at the right extremity of this recess (Fig. 19) and begins to move downwards, so that the rod H9 on which the roller I34 is pivoted, closes the circuit at contact I of switch I28 and thus the motor I I6 is started, said motor liftingthe racks.

On the plate I2I continuing to rotate the rod H9 is lifted and the switch I20 is changed over, causing a reversed motion of the motor. This is effected at the part I31 of the recess. For preventing excess upward or downward movement of the racks, end-switches I52, I53 may be provided (see Fig. 20). The plate or disc I2I may be made also as an electrical controller with sliding contacts governing the motor in the described way. When the lap ejecting and supply operations are finished and arm 23 is lifted, spring I28 is tensioned and the clutch I24, I25 is disengaged in a similar manner to the disengagement of clutch IIII, IIlIa of the embodiment according to Figs. 9 to 14. For this purpose the spring I28 pulls up rod I26 as soon as cam I33 snaps into a recess I32 on the fixed ring I3I.

The switch controlling the upward and downward movement of the racks can be governed by a suitably shaped slot situated on the rack itself, as shown in Fig. 21. When the rack is raised in consequence of the growth of the lap, roller I42 of a rod I43 controlling switch I25 is guided in a straight part of this slot. When the rack has attained a certain height, the curved or oblique part of this slot shifts rod I 43 to the right so that contact I of switch I25 is closed and the motor I I5 is set running. The racks are then raised by said motor, and the roller I42 is guided in part I38 of the slot. At the lower part of this slot the roller strikes against a spring I45 and snaps .behind the latter, pulling back the rod I43 so that the motor stops. Then the racks begin to sink under gravity and roller I42 is led by spring I40 into part I39 of the slot, so that contacts II are closed and the motor is set into a reversed motion. At the lowermost position of the racks, the roller snaps behind a spring I4I, leading it into part I 38 at the next lifting of the racks.

A further and very simple embodiment of the electrical control is shown in Figs. 22 and 23. The fall of arm 23 presses down a rod I49 and thus closes the circuit at switch I 55 and the electric motor raises the racks 6. The switch is locked in this position by means of spring I46 and pin !47 snapping in the recess I48 of rod I49. The sinking arm 23 presses down also the brake lever 52 by means of a rod I 56, thus releasing the brake of the racks, which can be raised freely.

At the raising of the racks the nose I5! fixed at the lower part of the racks frees a lever I58 pivoted to the frame of the machine, so that this lever is turned under the action of a weight fixed to its right arm, into the position shown in Fig. 22. In this position the curved .arm I59 of this lever bears on the brake lever 52 preventing it from rising. When the racks have attained their high position, an elastic buffer I 53 strikes against rod 23 and raises it together with rod I55, thereupon a curved guide I35 fixed also to one of the racks pulls pin it! out of the recess I48. Thus the spring I5! lifts rod I49, so that the circuit is opened and the motor is stopped, the racks beginning to lower under gravity.

On the racks rising the rod I55 leaves lever 52, so that the brake remains released. When the racks are near to their lowermost position the brake is, however, applied, as the nose I57 turns lever I58 in counter-clockwise direction, so that lever 52 is released and lifted, causing the brake .shoe to press against the friction pulley.

I claim: 1. In an automatic lap winding machine for use .in the preparatory operations of spinning, driving rollers for rotating the lap automatically raised and lowered racks adapted to press the lap to said driving rollers, means connected to the racks and adapted to eject the finished lap and means connected to the racks and adapted to supply an empty lap roller to said driving rollers by the moving of said racks.

2. In an automatic lap winding machine for use in the preparatory operations of spinning, driving rollers for rotating the lap automatically raised and lowered racks adapted to press the lap to said driving rollers, means arranged on the racks and adapted to eject the finished lap and means arranged on the racks and adapted to supply an empty lap roller to said driving rollers by the moving of said racks.

3. In an automatic lap winding machine for use in the preparatory operations of spinning, driving rollers for rotating the lap racks adapted to press the lap to said driving rollers, means for raising the racks if a predetermined length of the lap is attained, a guide connected to the racks and adapted to eject the finished lap at the raising of said racks, means for lowering the racks, and an oblique guide connected to said racks and adapted to supplyan empty lap roller to the driving rollers by the moving of said racks.

4. In an automatic lap winding machine for use in the preparatory operations of spinning, driving rollers for rotating the lap automatically raised and lowered racks adapted to press the lap to said driving rollers, a frame adapted to store the empty lap rollers, a guide pivotally mounted on said racks and adapted to eject the finished lap at the raising of the racks, an oblique guide adapted to engage with an empty lap roller stored on said frame as well as to lead said roller towardsthe rack, and means leading said lap roller to the driving rollers.

5. In an automatic lap winding machine for use in the preparatory operations of spinning, driving rollers for rotating the lap automatically raised and lowered racks adapted to press the lap to said driving rollers, a guide rotatable and shiftable on said racks and adapted to eject the finished lap at the raising of the racks, and another guide rotatably mounted on said racks for sup-plying an empty lap roller by the moving of said racks.

6. In an automatic lap winding machine for use in the preparatory operations of spinning, driving rollers for rotating the lap racks adapted to press the lap to said driving rollers, a cam shaft for controlling the function of the machine, a toothed segment on said cam shaft for automatically raising and lowering said racks, means connected to said racks and adapted to eject the finished lap and means connected to the racks and adapted to supply an empty lap roller to said driving rollers by the moving of said racks.

'7. In an automatic lap Winding machine for use in the preparatory operations of spinning, driving rollers for rotating the lap racks adapted to press the lap to said driving rollers, means for automatically raising said racks, said racks being adapted to sink under the action of gravity, a braking device adapted to decrease the speed of the sinking racks, a rotatably mounted eccentric disc adapted to control the function of said braking device, means connected to said racks and adapted to eject the finished lap and means connected to the racks and adapted to supply an empty lap roller to the driving rollers by the moving of the racks.

8. In an automatic lap winding machine as v claimed in claim 1, a conveyor adapted to receive the finished laps and to carry them away from said machine. I

9. In an automatic lap winding machine as claimed in claim 2, a conveyor adapted to receive the finished laps and to carry them away from said machine.

10. In an automatic lap winding machine as claimed in claim 1, a Weighing device for the finished laps, and a conveyor adapted to receive said finished laps and to carry them away from said weighing device.

11. In an automatic lap winding machine as claimed in claim 2, a weighing device for the finished laps, and a conveyor adapted to receive said finished laps and to carry them away from said weighing device.

12. In an automatic lap winding machine as claimed in claim 3, a weighing device for the finished laps, and a conveyor adapted to receive said finished laps and to carry them away from said weighing device.

13. In an automatic lap winding machine as claimed in'claim 1, a weighing device for the finished laps,,and means for stopping the machine if the weight of the lap is not within certain limits.

14. In an automatic lap winding machine as claimed in claim 1, a weighing device for the finished laps, a conveyor adapted to receive said laps and to carry them away from said weighing device, and electrical means for stopping the machine if the weight of the lap is not within certain limits.

15. In an automatic lap winding machine as claimed in claim 1, a weighing device for the finished laps, a pointer on said weighing device showing the weight of the lap, electrical means for stopping the machine, a source of current for said electrical means, and contacts cooperating with said pointer and adapted to close the circuit of said source of current if the weight of the lap is not within certain limits.

16. In an automatic lap Winding machine as claimed in claim 1, a weighing device for the finished laps, and an electrical indicator forshowing the number of produced laps the weight of which is not within certain limits.

17. In an automatic lap winding machine as claimed in claim 1, a weighing device for the finished laps, electrical means for stopping the machine if the weight of the lap is not within certain limits, and an electrical indicator for showing the number of said bad laps, said indicator being electrically connected to said means for stopping the machine.

18. In an automatic lap winding machine for use in the preparatory operations of spinning, driving rollers for rotating the lap racks adapted to press the lap to said driving rollers, an electric motor for driving the racks, means connected to said racks and adapted to eject the finished lap and means connected to said racks and adapted to supply an empty lap roller to said driving rollers by the moving of the racks.

19. In an automatic lap winding machine for use in the preparatory operations of spinning, driving rollers for rotating the lap, racks adapted to press the lap to said driving rollers, an elec tric motor adapted to raise and lower the racks, a switch controlling said motor and adapted to be changed over when the racks are at the upper part of theirlpath, means connected to said racks and adapted to eject the finished lap and means connected to said racks and adapted to supply an empty lap roller to said driving rollers by the moving of the racks.

20. In an automatic lap winding machine as claimed in claim 18, a switch controlling the electric motor, and a constantly driven part having a cam surface for governing said switch.

21. In an automatic lap winding machine as claimed in claim 18, a switch control ling the electric motor, and an intermittently driven pa-rt having a cam surface for governing saidswit'ch.

22. In an automatic lap winding machine for use in the preparatory operations of spinning, driving rollers for rotating the lap racks adapted to press the lap to said driving rollers, an electric motor for raising said racks, means for closing the circuit of said motor if a predetermined length of the lap is attained, means connected to the racks and adapted to open said circuit at a certain high point of path of the racks, said racks being adapted to sink under gravity, means connected to the racks and adapted to eject the finished lap and means connected to the racks and adapted to supply an empty lap roller to said driving rollers by the moving of said racks.

23. In an automatic lap winding machine for use in the preparatory operations of spinning,

and adapted to wind the lap on to a lap roller, driving rollers for rotating the lap automatically raised and lowered racks adapted to press the lap to said driving rollers, a cover adapted to lead the layer of "the lap towards the lap roller, and cutting means on said cover adapted to separate the part of the lap to :be rolled up from the part belonging to the finished lap.

:24. In an automatic lap winding machine as claimed in claim 23, cutting means consisting of sharp teeth secured to the cover.

.25. In an automatic lap Winding machine for use in the preparatory operations of spinning, and adapted to wind the lap on to a lap roller constantly driven press rollers for leading the lap to'said lap roller, driving rollers for rotating the lap automatically raised and lowered racks adapted to press the lap to said driving rollers, means connected to the racks and adapted to eject the finished lap and means connected to the racks and adapted to supply an empty lap roller to said driving rollers by the moving of said racks, a cover adapted to lead the lap towards the lap roller, cutting means on said cover to separate the 'part of the lap to be rolled up from the part belonging to the finished lap, and rollers driven in the same direction and adapted to receive the ejected lap.

' MARCEL STEIN. 

